TINY walnut twig beetle is cause for concern when a newly described fungus (with the proposed name of Geosmithia morbida), hitches a ride on its back when it bores into black walnut trees. Together they wreak a havoc known as "thousand cankers disease." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

WESTERN TIGER SWALLOWTAIL spreads its wings on an agapanthus in front of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sip of Nectar

SIP OF NECTAR--The Western tiger swallowtail sips nectar from an agapanthus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Touch Down!

TOUCH DOWN--The Western tiger swallow tail touches the hand of beekeeper Brian Fishback, president of the Sacramento Area Beekeepers' Association. He was visiting the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis on Friday. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

NOTED bumble bee expert Robbin Thorp, shown here in his office at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis, is on a mission to protect Franklin's bumble bee (Bombus franklini). His computer screen shows one of his images of the imperiled bumble bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Franklin's bumble bee

FRANKLIN'S BUMBLE BEE, pictured here on a California poppy, is mostly black. It has distinctive yellow markings on the front of its thorax and top of its head. It has a solid black abdomen with just a touch of white at the tip, and an inverted U-shaped design between its wing bases. (Photo by Robbin Thorp, UC Davis)